Roman History 101: From Republic to Empire

Written by Christopher M. Bellitto

Narrated by Christopher M. Bellitto

No civilization is so intertwined with the history of Christianity, and the greater Western world, as Rome. Now, you are invited to explore ancient Rome’s legacy with award-winning professor and prolific author Christopher M. Bellitto.

In this fascinating audio course on the Roman monarchy, republic, and empire, you will explore the essentials of Roman civilization: the creation of a city at the center of world history, its political legacy, its architectural and cultural achievements, its treatment of women and slaves, and its tragic flaws.

You will begin by placing ancient Rome in world history by looking at its origins and contexts in terms of geography and chronology. You will then explore the overlooked monarchy that ran for over two centuries until it was replaced by a republic that slowly took over the Mediterranean for 500 years. You will follow Rome as it defeated Carthage in three Punic Wars, facing challengers like Hannibal.

As you travel from the Republic to the Empire to Rome’s eventual “fall,” you will encounter such infamous figures as Julius Caesar, Octavian, Marc Antony, Cleopatra, Caligula, and Nero. You will see how paganism, Judaism, and Christianity interacted, often violently, and how Christianity transformed a stumbling empire. Finally, you will ask whether Rome truly fell at all.

This course is part of the Learn25 collection and includes a free PDF study guide.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Learn25
• Release date: Dec 5, 2012
• ISBN: 9781632510525

Reviews for Roman History 101

[Craig Johnson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent overview of the ancient Roman Empire--its roots, relationship to other cultures, development, contributions to governance and military, etc. Bellitto is an an outstanding speaking: energetic, articulate, humorous, and offers lots of analogies and modern parallels. I came to this after listen his Greece 101 and enjoyed this even more.

[Peggy · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed how this was brought! The analogies, the story telling opposed to “one damn thing after another”, the humour, the pace, … it was simply said: excellent.

[jeffrey houston · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Christopher Bellitto is excellent. I highly recommend his audio books.

[Robert Prowse · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Really good, thoroughly enjoyed it. Amended how I think of that period.

[Thelma · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Reads like a lecture rather than an audiobook. Very entertaining and captivating. Teacher is up to date with his expressions and uses examples from US political history. Not just listing events one after the other, he instead varies the structure in different chapters, or topics, as he calls them.

[itzchaky · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Love ur work Chris. Im creating flash cards for everything u say. Now ill listen to the crusades ?

[Paolo Coruzzi · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent and very accurate synthesis. Strongly recommend if you want to start a journey through the Roman Empire period.

[Patrick Mullane · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

An enthusiastic author but one perhaps too invested in judging Rome by modern standards,